Book a demo

G4 Guides · Victoria · Club nights

Running a raffle at a Victorian sports club

In Victoria a club first has to be declared a community or charitable organisation by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (free; apply at least 28 days ahead). Raffles with prizes over $23,060 also need a minor gaming permit ($40.10; apply eight weeks ahead). Every raffle follows the rules for its size: ticket sales between two and six times the prize value, goods or vouchers as prizes, a random draw, and records kept for three years.

From the VGCCC's own pages, read 4 November 2026

This guide sums up the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission's (VGCCC's) pages as they read on 4 November 2026. Those pages, the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 and the Gambling Regulations are the authority, and the VGCCC can add conditions to any permit. Fees are the 2026–27 amounts.

01Step one: be a declared organisation

To run raffles (and fundraising events, lucky envelopes or bingo), a club must be declared a community or charitable organisation by the VGCCC. Sporting and recreational clubs are eligible. Apply in the VGCCC portal at least 28 days before the activity; there is no fee, and the same form renews it. The VGCCC publishes the list of declared organisations, so you can check whether your club already is one. All raffle money goes to the declared club.

02When you need a permit

  • Prizes over $23,060 need a minor gaming permit. One VGCCC page says "over", another "$23,060 or more", so apply for a permit at $23,060 as well.
  • A smaller raffle needs a permit too when it falls outside the conditions below, such as how long tickets are sold or what the tickets are worth.
  • Applying: the minor gaming permit form in the VGCCC portal, $40.10, lodged at least eight weeks ahead. You appoint a nominee; if the nominee changes, appoint a new one within 7 days.
  • Changing a permitted raffle (prizes, sale dates, place, draw date) needs VGCCC approval first ($40.10).

03The rules by raffle size

Small raffles, total prizes $500 or less (the meat tray):

  • The first ticket sale and the draw happen on the same day, or within 8 hours.
  • Other raffles the club runs the same day, or within 8 hours, total $1,000 in prizes or less.
  • Ticket sales total at least twice and at most six times the prize value. Sellers are unpaid.
  • Tickets are numbered raffle books, or numbered tickets for a spinning wheel, buttless or perforated-sheet draw. If a winner is unclaimed, redraw.

Raffles with prizes up to $23,060 (no permit, when every condition is met):

  • Tickets are sold for up to three months, and total two to six times the prize value.
  • Tickets are printed, and sellers keep a permanent record of each buyer.
  • Each ticket shows the club's name, each prize and its value, the draw's date, time and place, how results will be published, and the ticket price.
  • The draw is on the date printed on the ticket, within 14 days of the last planned sale.

Raffles with prizes over $23,060 (permit): sell only the tickets and only in the period the permit allows, through sellers the club authorises; each ticket also shows the permit number and the maximum number of tickets; collect buyers' contact details; draw on the permitted date.

Only a licensed commercial raffle organiser can be paid to run a raffle for a club.

app.perchhq.com.au
Raffles in Perch HQ, from the invented demo district: a new raffle, the gaming declaration, and three raffles with their prizes.
Fig. 01A club's raffles in Perch HQ, with the declaration recorded beside them.

04Prizes

  • Prizes are goods, services or store gift cards for a named store or stores. Cash is not a legal prize (a travel prize may include cash up to 10% of its value), and debit cards are not allowed.
  • Alcohol as a prize depends on the venue's liquor licence; at an unlicensed venue, liquor can be one prize among others that every buyer has a chance to win. Liquor is not supplied to minors.
  • Deliver prizes within 28 days of the draw. For raffles over $500, keep an unclaimed prize for three months; the VGCCC page sets out what happens after that.

05The draw

Every ticket has a random, equal chance. The first ticket drawn wins first prize, one entry wins one prize, and the results are published and the winners told the way the tickets said.

06Money and records

  • All raffle money goes through one VGCCC-approved bank account at a Victorian deposit-taking institution, in the club's name.
  • Keep accurate records for three years. For a small raffle: where the money went and who won. Up to $23,060: the money, all printed tickets and the prizes. Over $23,060: how tickets were sold and publicised, buyers' names, tickets and money handed in, the draw, and winners' names, addresses and prize values.

07Footy tipping, sweeps and members' draws

  • Footy tipping: no VGCCC approval; where chance is involved, all the money collected goes back as prizes.
  • Melbourne Cup sweep: all the money goes back as prizes, up to $5,000 in total. A Calcutta sweep is different and needs a permit.
  • Members' draws are a kind of trade promotion lottery: free to enter, with the terms available to members.

08How Perch HQ helps

Perch HQ keeps a club's raffles in one place: the gaming declaration beside them, the tickets sold, the draw on the night and the winners, with a checklist of Victoria's raffle rules, so the record the VGCCC asks for is kept as you go. See raffles in Perch HQ, or book a demo.

09Sources (read 4 November 2026)

10Questions

Does a Victorian club need a permit for a raffle?

It always needs to be a declared community or charitable organisation first. A minor gaming permit is needed when the prizes total over $23,060 (apply at $23,060 too), or when a smaller raffle falls outside the conditions for its size.

How many tickets can a club sell?

Enough that ticket sales total between two and six times the value of the prizes. A permitted raffle sells only what its permit allows.

How long must raffle records be kept?

Three years. What to record depends on the raffle's size, from where the money went and who won, up to buyers' names and every winner's details for a permitted raffle.